The invention relates to power supply systems, and more particularly relates to power supply systems for use in casinos. In its most immediate sense, the invention relates to power supply systems for use with electronic gaming tables such as are used in modern casinos.
An electronic gaming table such as is conventionally used in a modern casino contains many electronic devices (e.g. servers, video screens, controls, sensors etc.). The gaming table has a dealer station and plurality of electronic gaming stations at which individual bettors can gamble. For example, an electronic blackjack table might have a dealer station for the dealer and nine gaming stations to accommodate as many as nine bettors. The dealer station will have a video screen and dealer controls, and each of the gaming stations will have a video screen and gaming controls (which may be integrated with the video screen if the video screen is a touch screen). With such an arrangement, a bettor can see his hand on his video screen and the dealer's hand on the dealer's video screen, can place a bet by operating the appropriate control, and can e.g. direct the dealer to “hit me” by operating the appropriate control. Cards dealt to the bettors appear on their video screens, cards dealt to the dealer appear on the dealer's video screen for the bettors to see, and wins and losses from the bets placed are automatically tracked.
Supplying power to the electronic devices in an electronic gaming table is not a simple task because of requirements imposed by regulatory authorities. For example, to insure that casino gaming is conducted honestly, the Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore (the “CRA”) requires that the operation of an electronic gaming table must be auditable and that any malfunction in an electronic gaming table must be reported. And, the CRA also requires that a video record of play at an electronic gaming table be made and maintained. Such a video record is especially important if the gaming table malfunctions; a video record can e.g. show if a bettor or a dealer has deliberately caused the malfunction in order to induce an advantageous game state. Thus, power must be supplied to all the electronic devices in the gaming table in such a manner that a malfunction in any of the devices will be recorded, and in a manner that the video record of activities occurring during the duration of the malfunction can be identified and examined to determine whether a bettor or the dealer caused the malfunction to come about.
Additionally, a power supply system used to power electronic devices in an electronic gaming table is a mission-critical component. This is because casinos rely upon every electronic gaming table to produces a substantial revenue stream. If a table malfunction occurs, the table must be shut down and while it remains shut down the casino loses the revenue that the table produces. Inasmuch as many malfunctions in electronic devices such as servers, video screens, controls, sensors etc. are preceded by power events (e.g. excessive or insufficient power consumption) that indicate that a malfunction will soon occur, it is advantageous to monitor the power consumption of the electronic devices in an electronic gaming table so that devices with suspect power consumption can be taken off line and replaced before they malfunction.
The invention proceeds from a realization that the problems faced by a casino in supplying power to the electronic devices in an electronic gaming table are similar to the problems faced by the operator of a server farm in supplying power to an equipment rack in the server farm, and that using an iPDU for each table facilitates localization of malfunctioning and potentially malfunctioning equipment. In accordance with the invention, a power supply system is provided. The power supply system supplies power to electronic devices associated with a single casino electronic gaming table. The table has a plurality of electronic gaming stations at which individual bettors can gamble. At least one of the devices is a video camera that is aimed at the table and that creates a video record of actions of at least one person at the table, such video record being synchronized with time. A network is provided, as is an intelligent power distribution unit (“iPDU”). The iPDU supplies power to selected ones of the electronic devices and operates to monitor the power consumption of each of those devices, to periodically report to the network said power consumption as a function of time, to disconnect individual ones of the devices from power when the power consumption of said individual ones meets predetermined conditions, to reconnect said individual ones in response to instructions received from the network, and to create an event log indicating which electronic devices have been so disconnected and reconnected and the times when such disconnection and reconnection have occurred. The video camera reports the video record as a function of time to the network, and the network includes means for synchronizing the event log with the video record, whereby such actions of persons at the table can be correlated with disconnections and reconnections of individual ones of said electronic devices.
By having electronic devices associated with a single electronic gaming table powered by a single iPDU, the casino can immediately identify the specific gaming table and device where a malfunction or an incipient malfunction exists. And, the network's capability to synchronize the event log with the corresponding video records of activity at the table makes it possible to detect (or to rule out) deliberate acts of sabotage by persons at the table.
Advantageously, the iPDU includes a transfer switch that receives power from two independent power sources. The transfer switch operates in a manner that when power from one of the power sources becomes unavailable, power from another one of the power sources is used to supply electrical power to the electronic devices associated with the table.